1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a joint connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a joint connector disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-40263 is known as the one to be mounted in a vehicle. This joint connector includes a housing for accommodating female terminals, the female terminals to be connected to male terminals, and a connection conductor to be led out to the outside of the housing and fixed to a body of the vehicle.
The housing includes terminal accommodating chambers arranged in two upper and lower rows and capable of accommodating the female terminals connected to ends of wires, and the terminal accommodating chambers are partitioned by partition walls. A locking lance for retaining the terminal is formed in a cantilever manner on a ceiling wall of each terminal accommodating chamber. When the terminal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, the locking lance is deflected. When the terminal is inserted to a predetermined position, the locking lance is restored and locks and retains the terminal against a force in a direction to withdraw the terminal. Further, since a male fitting portion is inserted into a female electric contact portion of the terminal due to the insertion of the terminal, the terminal and the fitting portion are electrically connected.
In recent years, with a request for the miniaturization of a vehicle, it has been required to miniaturize also a joint connector. Accordingly, if a vertical dimension of the joint connector can be made smaller, the joint connector can be miniaturized. Here, for a locking lance provided on the ceiling wall in each terminal accommodating chamber as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-40263, at least a space for vertical deflection needs to be provided for each terminal accommodating chamber, which has hindered the miniaturization of the joint connector.
The present invention was completed in view of the above situation and aims to miniaturize a joint connector.